[Phpug] constitution and committee, et al

[David Coallier]

Sorry after speaking with Ken he made me realize my email never made
it to the list apparently so I am sending it again (even though we
seem to have decided on this)

Ohhh ok I'm a bit late here but sorry all I was on holidays across the
world like... :P

Ok I'll give you a few insights on how we run things with PEAR and how
we handle the international part of the whole project. As most of you
know we are over 240 developers and each year we elect a group of 7
people that are from the community and a president (luckily this year
it's me woo!).

The 7 elected people do not have a precise "naming" but they are more
or less all of an advisory board. They are the ones that are going to
be deciding upon new rules, changes, etc. Whereas the president will
only be there for expeditive issues, communications, etc (A bit like
America's own George Bush... he's the one used to tell people but he
doesn't really decide :O)).

This being said, the group meets either once or twice a month (in
theory every two weeks) online as an IRC meeting and we publish the
minutes to the group then to the community. The goal of publishing the
minutes and the IRC logs are to be transparent of the discussions and
choices made by the group.

By not having different levels of hierarchy within the group, we
ensure democracy with the choices made by the group. Meaning that one
can not decide upon a new law/rule and make the change effective. In
order for the change to be accepted, it has to be voted by the
majority of the group and in case of a tie, then the president comes
into the game.

You can refer to the PEAR constitution if you questions, and if things
aren't that clear, I'll be here if you have questions about it:
http://url.ie/ln5


Now on with IPUG, I have to say one quick thing, the name should be
Ireland PHP User Group in my opinion as it's not only Irish in there
but the people from Ireland (Which are a big difference) and for a
second reason, all other user groups are using the name of the place
they are from. Atlanta PHP UG, London PHP UG, Sydney PHP UG, Utah PHP
UG (Of course the french are using "french" and not "France" but...
the french are french (wink wink Stef :)).

So next point I guess is the constitution; I really like the 45kms
rule for the AGM, and in theory nowadays business and boards are
allowed to meet virtually (thus on IRC) as long as they meet once a
year in person (AGM). I am not 40% agile with Ireland's business
jurisdictions and business laws and how far we go around it (perhaps I
should study this a bit) but I think meeting online (Meaning that we
have board members in all important cities for the 4-5 major cities of
Ireland could give us both territorial & communication advantages. The
first cities that come to my mind are of course (Cork, Galway, Dublin)
but of course having something a bit more east like port lairge or
wexford depending on the communities and voluntaries.

Having the social headquarters in Cork is something that is also
something I'd support. Dubs have enough recognition by now :))


Anyways, I know what I just explained basically involves rewriting the
constitution as there wouldn't be specific positions but instead
involves a board of members with the same amount of rights. Of course
a president/chairman is required and also a treasurer but all other
positions are rather futile to me. I have also been involved with GAA
sports in Canada and as a sports club, we had to have all the levels
and names however this is a bit different as it is not sports club.
The goals are not the same and the decisions usually affect more
people with tasks that are very different than the usual tasks. On the
other hand I have also worked with investors and startup companies
(which are mostly based on board meetings and members with members
with more privileges (as they hold more money or have more company
stocks/percentage of ownership))  and their meetings require to be on
site most of the time as they deal with a LOT of money and a very
tight schedule.

>From what I have seen with user groups/open source groups the solution
that works (and worked) the best so far is the board members - one
president (One elected vice president in case the president is leaving
or going on holidays). The elected board members have equal rights and
each votes means "1"/"one". The votes are more democratic and someone
more "crooked" (Not saying it's the case here) would not have as much
power as expected but everyone together is very powerful.

Hmm, I may rewrite another email in about 2-3 hours because this one
is a bit all around as I tried to give an answer finally but you get
the point I think :)





As opposed to Laura, I LOOK for trouble! :P (Joke)

2008/8/19 Kae Verens <kae at verens.com>:
> So yeah, stuff has stalled.
>
> I'd recommend a date is set and that is the date the committee and
> constitution are voted and written in.
>
> I think we've basically tied down what the constitution will be, so the
> only things left are to decide the committee and vote it into place.
>
> I'm not sure how this is done, but I think people should raise their
> virtual hands and announce whether they're willing to help if asked, or
> to be on the committee if asked. At the inaugural meeting, those willing
> to be in committee will then be voted on by the attenders.
>
> As Ken said in IRC a short while ago, the positions do not need to be
> decided in person - we can do this virtually. I guess the exact process
> will need to be decided.
>
> Personally, I'm willing to help by working on webpages, etc, and
> anything else I can do from my isolated position! I'm not sure how much
> work is involved with being on the committee, but I would consider it
> tentatively.
>
> kae
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-- 
Slan,
David